In order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SN ratio) in an optical transmission system, an optical fiber is required to have low attenuation and low nonlinearity. To reduce the nonlinearity of an optical fiber, it is effective to enlarge the effective area of the optical fiber. However, if the diameter of a core is enlarged in order to expand the effective area of the optical fiber, a higher order mode will be propagated. Therefore, in order to prevent signal degradation due to interference between propagation modes, the effective cutoff wavelength of LP 11 mode of an optical fiber is needed to be not more than the signal light wavelength, that is, 1530 nm or less in the case where signal light is transmitted in the C-band (1530 to 1565 nm), for example.
W-type refractive-index profile is known as a refractive-index profile of an optical fiber which can not only expand an effective area but also make a single mode effectively at the wavelength of 1530 nm or more. The optical fiber having a W-type refractive-index profile has a core, an inner cladding which encloses the core and which has a refractive index smaller than the refractive index of the core, and an outer cladding which encloses the inner cladding and which has a refractive index smaller than the refractive index of the core and larger than the refractive index of the inner cladding.
When actually using an optical fiber, it is necessary to bend and store the excess length of the optical fiber in a repeater, transceiving equipment, a cable joint box, and the like. In such case, the bend radius is about 25 mm, for example.
In the past, however, in most cases the bend loss of an optical fiber has been discussed at the value in terms of bend loss available with a bend radius of 10 mm, and there has been little examination for bend loss in the case of a bend radius in which an optical fiber is actually used. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-197667 proposes a design method for refractive-index profile of an optical fiber in order to reduce the bend loss at a bend radius of 10 mm, although no investigation has been done with respect to the bend radius of 25 mm, for example, in which an optical fiber is actually used.